Kitchen & Bath Design News recently posed the question to dealers and designers in the kitchen and bath industry: “How is the current business climate impacting you and what are your expectations for 2009?” Following are some of their responses:

“The overall business climate is not impacting us so much. This time of year is typically tough, because it’s the beginning of a new year. However, our area in the South recently had a big influx of money because of our oil reserves. A lot of people have money coming in, where they didn’t before. We luckily haven’t been hit as hard as everyone else, and I believe it’s due to this.

We expect 2009 will be a little slower, even though there is an economic boom happening here. We anticipate this, because the country’s economic climate has changed.

Since we are generally customer- service driven, we won’t adjust much. Customer service should be even more of a priority and hopefully it will show clients why they should work with our company instead of somewhere else. You must make customer service your top priority with everyone.”

Jenny Owen, designer
Kitchen & Bath Cottage
Shreveport, LA

“Obviously business is down across the country, but we see this as an opportunity. We are investing a lot in our showroom and are genuinely excited about the future. We are exceptionally positive.

Due to layoffs in related industries, customer service is dipping below minimum expected levels. I have not and will not lay off anyone. As a result, my customer service continues to advance. I’ve always thought we had excellent customer service, but it wasn’t appreciated. Now, since our competitors’ customer service levels are falling, our firm’s service is finally getting noticed. The subtle things we do will be far more noticeable. This is an opportunity market.

I don’t know if I can pin my expectations down to 2009. However, those people who invest in themselves during this down economy will come out ahead of their competition. The growth of those who are investing in themselves will be exponential compared to those who are not.”

Barry Goldberg, v.p.
Union Hardware
Bethesda, MD

“We are definitely affected by the current climate. Our sales are down from last year and business has been slower. We’ve had to make cuts in personnel, but I hope we took our big hit last year. I hope it will level out and maybe there won’t be any more decreases. It’s important to qualify your customers when they come in. You don’t want to overprice something or undersell either. Make sure you get as much out of the sale as you can.

The forecast doesn’t look great for 2009, but we’re doing our best to stay afloat. In bad times like this, companies have to make decisions they don’t want to. I hope to stay where I was in sales last year at least. That’s very possible. We’ll hang in there and do what we have to do to survive. We go through cycles and this is one of the rougher cycles. It will be over eventually and we’ll come out of it. Everyone will go forward and everything will be okay in the end.”

Paul Sneller, showroom manager
Designer Kitchens and Baths
Jefferson City, MO

“I’m one of the lucky ones, because the overall business climate hasn’t affected me negatively. I’m as busy as I was before. The type of client we work with and our referrals are what keep us going right now. For other designers, it dropped off around September, but I’ve been steady.

It’s all about customer service. One major thing we provide our clients is helping them through the whole process. They feel comfortable and we do a lot of hand holding.

I’ll do the same or more business in 2009 compared to 2008. In this climate, you have to keep your head down. Do the job you’ve been doing and you’ll get through it. The pent up demand will break at the end of 2009.

Americans like spending money. We’re going to see a big movement at the end of 2009, because everyone will understand their finances better. I’ve seen it before. The money is somewhere. There’s a certain amount of money in the world. You just have to find where it is.”

Catherine Hodgins, owner
Kitchens By Design
Wilmington, DE

“Due to the current climate, sales in various communities have slowed down, but we’ve been fortunate to have good contracts. The commercial business here is doing well. Since people are not willing to spend a lot of money to buy a new home, we’re doing a lot of remodels now.

There has been an increase in the amount of home sales here. People are seeing the bargains and purchasing the inexpensive homes. In a lot of instances, where people have lost their homes, they remove kitchens and anything of value. Whoever buys these homes needs to replace those items, which is an increase in our business. Overall expectations should grow in 2009. Everyone is foreseeing doom and gloom, but I feel it has hit bottom. It can only go up at this point.

I see things picking up. I know in the custom neighborhoods, many people ended up in bankruptcy. However, people are purchasing those homes now, because they see the opportunity. From that standpoint, things look good. The numbers are not going to go off the charts like they did in previous years, but I definitely see a positive future.”

Lorrie Latchford, showroom sales
Westar Kitchen & Bath
Las Vegas, NV